Children
by thebronzeEF
Summary: Oneshot. Early Season 5. Buffy and Spike share a tender moment over the Slayer's pregnancy scare. Enjoy! Few Buffy/Riley references. Not happy ones, however.


This plot randomly came to me in my daydreams, during Physics and I knew I just had to get it down on paper. Enjoy!

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One shot

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The intimidating taunt of the clock wasn't helping Buffy's already high anxiety levels. She supposed it was better than the bitter silence of the deserted house. Her mum was out, Dawn was at school and she'd told Willow and Xander that she was taking the day off sick. She didn't even want to think about where Riley was right now. She couldn't. Thinking about him only reminded her of the possible life sentence she might be trapped in. She could barely bring herself to look at the little white stick she was holding in her sweaty hands. Had it been 2 minutes already? Or had it only been 10 seconds? She'd completely lost all sense of time.

Suddenly, the door was flung open and in ran a smoking figure covered by a blanket. Buffy leapt up from the couch and dropped the test, completely forgetting about it. A still sizzling Spike threw the blanket on the floor before slicking back his hair. He quickly noticed a startled Buffy staring at him from the front room.

"Was gonna say, you humans really are idiots if you leave the door unlocked when no one's home."

"What the hell do you want Spike?", she yelled, angrier than usual for his intrusion.

"Watcher boy, actually. Got some information he might want...for a price of course. Don't mind waiting for him."

The vampire made himself at home on the couch, much to Buffy's irritation.

"Well, I do mind, so get out! I'd recommend getting your blanket before I chuck you out myself."

He didn't seem to take any notice of her demands. She wanted to throw him out? She could try...

Buffy suddenly remembered that she'd stupidly left the test in full view, on the cushions and snatched it up. Unfortunately, it had already caught the vamp's attention. He knew immediately what it was. Soon enough, Buffy could tell he knew too.

"Now...looks like little Miss Slayer has some explaining to do."

Buffy looked incensed. "Where did you get the sick idea that I need to expain anything to you?"

Spike's mouth curved.

"I didn't mean me exactly but now you mention it..."

There was a short silence between them.

"Who's the unlucky fella then?"

Oddly enough, his latest comment didn't seem to sting as much as the others.

"Soldier boy, right?", Spike guessed.

"He might not even be a dad yet so shut it! Why are you still here? I thought I said I'd throw you out!"

"Better calm down. Stress won't do the sprog any good." He feigned concern.

That was it. Buffy threw a punch and clocked Spike in the face. He started laughing as he cupped his nose. He let the mixture of anger, fear and devestation on her face sink in.

"You really have no clue what to do if you are up the duff do you?" A small hint of sympathy could be recognised in his voice now.

"Just go", she whimpered. "I don't expect you to understand any of this. You don't have children."

"No. But I was one once. Had a mum. And I know I loved her."

What was he doing? Why was he telling her all this? He'd never spoken to another living soul about his human life.

Buffy slipped the test into her pocket.

"Then why are you treating this like a joke? Like my life is just something for you to play around with whenever you feel like it?"

"Its been over 100 years. Guess I've forgotten what it feels like to have a family, to be appreciated...to feel human."

She didn't know why but Spike's decleration had touched Buffy. She'd never seen this side to him. She hadn't even known it existed.

"Think it's been longer than 2 minutes, love", he stated, his eyes moving to the stick poking out of the front of her jeans.

She slowly moved her shaking hand to the test and carefully withdrew it from her pocket, as if it were a fragile stick of dynamit, ready to blow her whole world apart. She didn't ask him to stay but neither did she demand that he leave. He was just able to read the icon on the test from the distance he was standing out.

A fresh set of tears began to build up behind the slayer's eyes. A thin blue line stared them in the face.

"What are you gonna tell Captain Cardboard about all this?", Spike asked, almost hesitantly.

Buffy took a deep breath. "I'm not. There's nothing to tell. As long as y-"

"I don't know anything. I was never here. You got it", he interrupted. Buffy shot him an almost thankful half smile. He picked up the blanket from where he had carelessly dumped it, a few minutes before and prepared to make his way outside.

"People can say what they will but...you wouldn't have made that shabby a mother."

Before Buffy could even decide whether William the Bloody had just paid her a compliment, or not, he had made his exit, leaving behind a faint trail of smoke...

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Please review! Would you like to see more oneshots like this?


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